1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a high-rigidity forceps tip assembly for an active forceps used in a minimally invasive surgery and the like and to an active forceps including the same.
2. Prior Art
Conventional active forceps used in a master-slave robot for a minimally invasive surgery (particularly a laparoscopic surgery) is mostly ones that change a direction of a forceps tip by wire driving (for example, refer to Guthart G. S., and J. K. Salisbury, “The Intuitive Telesurgery System: Overview and Application.” Proc. of the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, San Francisco Calif., April 2000). This is because a small mechanism of changing a direction of a forceps by transmitting a driving force to a forceps tip from an actuator disposed in a base of the forceps can be relatively easily realized by use of the wire driving.
In the wire driven active forceps, even if the actuator has a large driving force, a wire may be elongated or cut off because of low rigidity and durability of the wire. Thus, it is difficult to transmit a large force up to the forceps tip. Consequently, the wire driven active forceps has been used in an endoscopic surgery, such as angiorrhaphy, which does not require a very large force.
When an active forceps is used in, for example, an organ removal surgery, the active forceps has to hold an organ by its tip. Thus, it is necessary that not only an actuator has a large driving force but also the force can be efficiently transmitted to the tip of the forceps and the forceps tip is supported with high rigidity. Consequently, the conventional wire driven active forceps described above was inappropriate for the organ removal surgery.